Bobcat Athletics Wins PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award

HILTON HEAD, S.C. – The Peach Belt Conference (PBC) held its Annual Awards Dinner Tuesday night, with Georgia College earning the PBC Institution of the Year Sportsmanship Award for the first time in school history.

The annual honor is given to the institution displaying the best overall sportsmanship for the 2016-17 season and culminates the PBC's season-long sportsmanship recognition program.

“We are honored to receive recognition from our peer institutions recognizing the efforts of our student-athletes and coaches in treating our opponents and the game with respect,” said Wendell Staton, Director of Athletics. “This speaks directly to the quality and leadership of our student-athletes and coaches. This is consistent with the culture of our University and a reflection of an incredible learning environment with outstanding students, faculty and staff.”

Following each championship sports season a Team Sportsmanship Award is presented to the team in that sport that best exemplifies what the award stands for: the spirit of sportsmanship, a high degree of integrity, character and class. Each team award is voted on by other teams who compete in that sport and points are awarded on how each team finished in the voting.

In 2016-17, Georgia College was a co-winner of the Team Sportsmanship Award in women's tennis and won outright in men's tennis and volleyball. GC has won 12 Team Sportsmanship Awards all-time.

A banner that rotates from winning school to winning school will hang in Milledgeville, Georgia for the first time after spending the last six years at Flagler College.

The Georgia College Department of Athletics, two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' multiple appearances in post-season competition as well as documented academic success and community-service involvement. Sign up at @GCBobcats on social media for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit GCBobcats.PhotoReflect.com to purchase photo prints from home athletic contests.